


Eight Cards

by WincestSounds (Cammerel)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Feels, Fluff, Incest, M/M, RP, Valentine's Day, Wincest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-15
Updated: 2013-03-15
Packaged: 2017-12-05 09:51:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/721702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cammerel/pseuds/WincestSounds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even though Dean doesn’t expect his brother to understand, he still tries to make sure they do something special on Valentine’s Day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eight Cards

Dean remembered the first time he ever gave Sam a Valentine’s Day card. It was just a few months after he’d lost his mother, and though he wasn’t in school then, dealing with his father’s crazy grief over Mary, Dean wanted to do something to stop feeling so horrible.

Sam was barely 9 months old and the older Winchester brother had snuck ten bucks when their dad wasn’t looking, took a long walk to a Walmart nearby while their dad was indisposed.

He’d carried his brother in and back out, home just moments before John arrived. For the next few days he cut up the paper and glued everything together and, though there was nothing his brother could do with the thing, Dean kept it in his baby bag afterwards - after Sam had spent a few minutes slobbering on it until the second ‘m’ was too wet and soggy, and it’d fallen off.

Every year after that, for eleven years, Dean always made Sam a Valentine’s Day card. The second his brother tore in half while having a fit, and Dean taped it back together, putting it with the first. The third had milk spilt all over it and the fourth was stomped into the dirt outside their motel room.

It was the fifth that Dean cherished the most, because he gave it to Sam and though it was wrinkled and bent, and torn in a few places, it was the one that caused him to smile the most, because Sam slept with the damn thing for fifteen days before he forgot about it and moved on to something else.

The sixth and seventh though were the ones that bothered Dean the most, because Sam was growing up, and though his affections for Dean grew stronger, his interest in pieces of paper didn’t.

Dean didn’t make them because his classes required him to, though that was the case most of the time - he made them because he loved his brother. Really,  **truly**  loved him, and Valentine’s Day was one of the only days he got to show that feeling without looking like a complete doofus.

But after the seventh, he started to realize that taking part in such a tradition was a kid’s thing - stupid, a waste of time, and Sam didn’t want them anyways. He made an eighth, but had never gotten up the nerve to give it to his brother. So he stopped completely, and his brother never said anything about it. But Dean carried the first seven cards with him everywhere he went.

It wasn’t until his mid-twenties that the intention came back with a vengeance. The first time he’d joked about it to his brother and had been half done to cheer Sam up, but the second time, he meant it more sincerely than anything, to which Sam responded by rolling his eyes, again.

Maybe it just wasn’t his brother’s thing, but Dean was actually kind of miffed each time he was turned down. Doing it a third time might’ve given his intentions away, so he didn’t. He fought back everything inside of him.

Valentine’s Day wasn’t one of those days he could show his affections to Sam. No day was, and there was no point, because to Sam, dean was still his stupid older brother that listened to classic eighties music and made horrible jokes.

Valentine’s Day was just another day.

He leaned over the table and took one of his brother’s leaves of lettuce, turning his face upright and placing it over his nose, balancing the thing on his face, “It’s like… Hannibal Lecter, only…  _Vegetable Lecter_.”

* * *

Dean was probably one of the best older brother’s anyone could ever want. Growing up, he’d always go out of his way to take care of Sam, let him know that he was loved - even if the older Winchester never actually did say it out loud.

Sam could remember the Valentine’s cards vividly, it’d almost become a tradition of sorts and each year he anticipated a new one, he would literally count down the days until Valentine’s Day, that’s how anxious he’d be.

Of course, he trained himself over the years to not show his excitement, he’d thank Dean for them but he never did show the older Winchester how much he appreciated the effort.

One year when Sam was in first grade he’d bent over in his seat to pick his pencil up off the floor and his most recent Valentine from Dean fell out of his pocket.

Billy; probably the meanest bully in first grade noticed almost immediately and snatched it up off the floor, taunting Sam with it, making kissy faces at him and making fun of him, calling him a faggot - even though the little shit probably didn’t even know what the word meant.

All of that did a number on Sam, and it was something he never told Dean about. So the year after that when he didn’t get another card from Dean, in a way he felt relieved, never even bothered to ask Dean about it.

Being bullied like that at such a young age was traumatizing and practically forced Sam to analyze his life and his feelings for Dean well before he even knew what they were. He’d always looked up to Dean, admired him like no other. In Sam’s eyes, there was no one that could even compare to his older brother.

It wasn’t until Sam was practically a pre-teen when he realized that his feelings for Dean weren’t strictly platonic, and to be honest, he wasn’t really freaked out when the realization hit him, it just made sense in an odd way.

All through puberty his feelings for his brother blossomed and bloomed into something almost unrecognizable, something so strong and foreign it scared the shit out of him - so he took off to Stanford to put space between them, thinking the feelings would go away.

They didn’t, naturally, and when Dean showed up and roped him back into the lifestyle, everything he’d ever felt for his brother came flooding back and hit him so fucking hard it almost left him breathless.

Falling back into routine with Dean was effortless, they bonded unlike any brothers he’d ever known. And for the most part, Sam kept a lid on his feelings. The only time he really ever let it show was when Dean would call him a ‘bitch’, to which he’d always respond with a fond: ‘jerk’.

The first time since being reunited when Dean had jokingly asked Sam to be his Valentine, shoving a human [heart](http://carryonmywincestsounds.tumblr.com/post/43118517885) in a container towards him, Sam rolled his eyes on instinct, mainly because he was convinced Dean was joking.

The second time was similar to the first and, though he wanted to roll his eyes again, to mask how he really felt, he just huffed indignantly and never responded to the older Winchester.

Which brought them to where they were now, sitting in a diner having supper on Valentine’s Day.

Sam had kept waiting for Dean to ask again, thinking that he would actually just say yes for once, just to see the older man’s reaction. But the question never came and Sam had increasingly become more depressed as the day went on, and obviously Dean had noticed because he had lettuce plastered to his face and had made a horrible Silence of the Lambs joke.

Sam started to give Dean the best bitch face he could muster, but his brother looked so ridiculous it was a little funny, so he chuckled, “That was horrible and you should feel bad.”

“You’ll still eat it,” The older Winchester said, grinning and raising his brows suggestively as he gave his brother back the leaf.

He never really cared if he looked completely moronic doing things to cheer up his brother, he wasn’t really sure what had Sam so down, but he was trying to make sure that it didn’t get worse. As long as he brought out those dimples, Dean always felt rewarded for his selfless efforts.

The diner was emptier than he was use to for an early evening meal, but he supposed that people around the area wanted to dine at a place that was more than six bucks per person,  _tonight_.

Sam just nodded silently, what little semblance of a smile that had been on his face faded as he forked another mouthful of salad, shoveling it in his mouth so he wouldn’t have to talk.

He looked around the diner as he chewed and thought back on all of the Valentine’s he’d received from his brother, wondering if there were ever any other intentions behind them or if it was strictly just to keep Sam happy, to keep him from realizing just how grim their life was.

He still couldn’t explain the passed two Valentine’s Days, though - Dean had sounded like he was joking, but Sam could still remember the slightly hopeful smirk on his brother’s lips right before he turned him down both times. It really didn’t seem like Dean was going to ask for a third year in a row, no doubt tired of Sam turning him down, so he just contemplated taking things into his own hands.

Sam finished chewing and pushed his plate forward, looking between Dean and his empty cup, “You’ve literally had three cups of coke, how are you not busting to piss right now?”

“I dunno, you’ve had like how many salads in your life? How’re you not a rabbit right now?” Dean argued back, pursing his lips as he looked at Sam’s plate, “One of the world’s greatest mysteries. At least I’m not keeping track of your bladder.”

The older Winchester finished his fries and finally pulled up the bill, setting down a twenty and looking at his brother, “You’re kinda quiet. You ready to go? Gettin’ tired or somethin’?”

Sam had initially thought of scribbling out something on a napkin and laying it on Dean’s plate if he’d went to the bathroom, but the older Winchester was acting against any plans Sam tried to set forth. He used the napkin sitting next to his plate to wipe his mouth before shrugging and moving from the booth.

“I’m fine,”  _You’re just making things a little difficult for me right now_ , Sam pocketed his hands and gestured towards the door, “Let’s just head back.”

“Actually,” Dean looked at his brother, tilting his head slightly as he stood as well, “I’m not really in the mood to sit down an’ do research, we still got time to kill before it’s too late, I was wonderin’ if… Maybe you were interested in partakin’ in some kinda… I dunno…  _Fun_ , or somethin’?”

Sam raised a brow at Dean, “You and I have very different definitions of fun,” He grinned warily, “What exactly did you have in mind? There can’t be too much to do in this podunk town.” The prospect of being able to find another way to ask Dean definitely had him intrigued, though.

Dean patted his brother’s shoulder as he smirked, “I saw it drivin’ in, an’ it’s been a really, really long time since I’ve seen a movie, I can’t imagine how long it’s been since you saw one. Especially in… A drive-in?” He suggested, “I mean, we head out to Illinois tomorrow, an’ we never take time out, seemed like we could enjoy a moment.”

 _It wasn’t a date_ ,  _honestly_ , he wasn’t asking Sam out or anything - even if it looked that way - it wasn’t something special because it was Valentine’s Day, it wasn’t another card, or a fucking [heart](http://carryonmywincestsounds.tumblr.com/post/43091642671) that Sam could turn down. It was just a stupid movie. His brother couldn’t really say ‘no’, could he? They had hours to kill and he knew it was a stretch, but god dammit, he wanted some kind of something with his brother, just for _two fucking hours_.

Sam nodded and glanced at Dean as they walked to the Impala, intentionally bumping his brother’s arm with his own before moving to the passenger side door, “Yeah, why not.” He shrugged half[heart](http://carryonmywincestsounds.tumblr.com/post/43672996606)edly at Dean over the hood of the car before sliding inside, the wheels in his mind already turning, trying to come up with another plan.

The younger Winchester tried not to think so much on the fact that they’d be alone,  _together_ , and sitting in the Impala for about two hours - surrounded by other people making out in cars next to them, because it’s just what people did at drive-in’s.

The older Winchester managed to restrain himself from making any kind of outward gesture to show his satisfaction, simply smiling to himself and climbing into the car before starting her up.

He stopped at the nearest gas station to fill her up and by a six pack and a few snacks, relieving himself in the bathroom before joining his brother in the car once more. He set the beer between them, thumbs drumming on the steering wheel as he drove on.

He’d hopefully pulled it off without any sort of obviousness - to his intents. Dean was pretty sure that Sam never understood why he did things on Valentine’s Day, though he tried to manage something special each time, even though it was probably insignificant to his brother.

He parked the car, changing the radio station around for the area - the movie didn’t start for another thirty minutes, but he didn’t mind.

Dean smiled over at his brother, pulling off his jacket and reclining the bench back slightly, “I can’t say I’ve ever even been to a drive-in before, you?”

Sam kept the staring to a minimum on the way there, just side-glancing at the older Winchester every so often, trying to analyze if maybe the whole drive-in movie idea was laced with double intentions.

It didn’t matter either way, he knew he still needed to find a way to ask Dean to be his Valentine, as cheesy as it fucking sounded - he knew it would probably mean a lot to the older Winchester, because God knows the date alone held a lot of meaning for him.

“I don’t think so,” Sam responded, slightly distracted as he looked around at all of the vehicles filing in, some already parked with steamed windows, “I think I’m gonna go over to the concession stand and get some popcorn.” He glanced at the snacks Dean had already bought, “You want anything else or are you good?”

“I’m good,” Dean shrugged, thumbing the cap on his beer and nodding to Sam, “But I wouldn’t complain about some popcorn.” He looked ahead to the screen, currently playing ads, and tried to keep his heart rate down.

Screw drive-ins, him and Sam had only went and seen a handful of movies together, it wasn’t… Really,  **really**  wasn’t something they did often. Sam’s birthday one year, Dean’s another.

This was probably the biggest he’d taken part in for Valentine’s Day, though. And yeah, it was a bit more obvious now, with the couples around in their cars, but he didn’t care, Sam had said ‘yes’. That was the first ‘yes’ he’d gotten since he was eleven, and somewhere inside of him, the twelve year old Dean was giving him a pat on the back.

 _Even if you didn’t ask him straight up, even if you didn’t say the words, it still counted._  It still counted because he was pretty sure his brother knew what day of the month it was, and why there were couples around, and he’d still agreed to watch a movie with him.

Sam probably stared at Dean for a moment too long, he wasn’t really sure, but he nodded and opened the door to get out, “Okay, I’ll be right back.” He closed the door and started off toward the concession stand, rolling his eyes at a vehicle that was actually rocking, clothes all pinned up against the windows for privacy.

The woman at the stand smiled at Sam and pointedly looked behind him, to see if he had a significant other with him, smiling even wider when she didn’t see anyone, “Can I help you, handsome?”

Sam tried to be as polite as possible, nodding towards the popcorn maker, “Just a large popcorn.” He noticed little pink boxes of candy, shaped like little hearts with words on them, “Oh! And a box of those too, please.” Sam gestured to the candy and handed her the money.

Before walking back to the car he stopped and poured all of the little hearts out into his hand, popcorn tucked oddly under his arm. There were some that said things like ‘only you’, ‘all mine’ and ‘2 cute’ - but Sam settled on two specifically that said ‘be mine’ and ‘one kiss’ and then threw the rest away before dropping the designated two back into the box.

He could feel his heart pounding frantically as he made his way back to the Impala, small box of candy in his pocket as he slid into the car once more, handing the popcorn to Dean with a shy smile.

“Beer?” Dean asked, handing one over to his brother as he took the popcorn and grinned, stuffing his face with a handful and raising his brows suggestively at Sam, pointing out to some of the cars lower down the hill they were on.

There, where the large, obnoxious truck was parked - a couple seated, two girls, one obviously butch one that could’ve been perceived as a guy, if it wasn’t for her bra strap, and the other with dark, long wavy hair, sitting in her lap, “They been goin’ at it since we got here, guess it passes the time.”

“I imagine,” Sam agreed nervously, fingertips brushing the little box in his pocket before he reached for the beer, twisting the cap off and taking a swig, “How much longer until the movie starts?” The younger Winchester was trying to figure out the right time to give Dean the candy,  **if**  he could actually work up the nerves to do it in the first place.

“Fifteen minutes,” Dean said as he licked his lips and looked at his brother, “Funny that so many couples come out to a drive-in to make out, you ever think’a why they do that? I mean, you’re in a car, surrounded by other cars, might as well be group sex, all the people simultaneously makin’ out an’ shit. Maybe it’s some kinda narcissistic exhibitionist thin’,” He shrugged. He liked to think he was playing himself off well, seeming casual, convincing Sam that it wasn’t really anything more than just a movie.

“It never really made much sense to me, personally,” Sam relaxed against the seat and continued to sip at his beer, other hand back in his pocket to fidget with the box, such a small token that would probably change both of their lives for good, “Why waste money to watch a movie and then make out? Just stay home and do it, save money, you know?”

Dean nodded and chuckled, “My thoughts exactly. Humans - demons I can understand - it’s the humans that make no sense some times,” He looked at his brother, the hand in his pocket, before shrugging to himself and turning back to the ads.

He grinned as a car pulled up beside them, blaring AC/DC and glanced over as he watched the driver all but launch himself across the seats, “At least he’s got good taste in music.”

Instead of keeping his eyes averted, Sam actually allowed himself to look at Dean, raising a skeptical brow as he smiled at the older Winchester adoringly, “That’s debatable.”

There was still another ten minutes or so until the movie started, so Sam pulled the little box out of his pocket, keeping his breathing calm as he handed it to Dean while the older man seemed engrossed in the ads playing, “Want some candy?”

“Huh?” Dean looked from the couple, down to the box in his brother’s hand, “Oh hey,” He took it, raising his brows at Sam and chuckling, “Nice to see you saved a couple for me, I love these things.”

The older Winchester dumped them out onto his palm, turning one over and reading them both before smirking, “Classic, I hate those new ones they have these days, those sparkle Twihard ones.” He ate them, sucking on the candies as he looked back at the movie screen.

Sam sat there silently, mouth gaping open in disbelief as he stared at Dean. It would figure that he’d come up with a half way decent plan and Dean would somehow manage to stick a wrench in there somewhere. He sighed and relaxed back into his seat, frowning as he ran a palm over his face.

Dean looked at his brother, raising a brow and scooting closer, touching his shoulder carefully, “Hey, uh… You okay?” He swallowed the last of the soft mints.

Sam had been acting weird since he came back from the concession stand, and Dean wasn’t sure if it was the atmosphere around them, but he fucking hoped that Sam wasn’t going to back out of the movie now.

“Peachy,” Sam kept his eyes trained on the big, white screen, voice tight with irritation over his faltered plan. The previews began to play, so he relaxed further into his seat, rubbing his palms over the denim covering his thighs.

Sometimes drive-in movies had intermissions, so naturally, Sam was keeping his fingers crossed for just that. He’d like to think his brother wouldn’t make the same mistake  **twice**.

The older Winchester moved back to his side, clearing his throat and sipping his beer as he opened a box of sour gummy worms, slowly sucking on the pink and blue ones, occasionally offering Sam some as the movie progressed.

The couple of girls in the truck up front ended up leaving a quarter of the way through, and the ones to their left had quieted the music, but Dean got the impression that their dry-hump session could’ve gone on for hours if it had to.

Sam managed to survive the first half of the movie, honestly not even paying attention to it, looking at Dean more often than he was the screen, grinning anytime the light reflected nicely off of his brother’s eyes. Anytime Dean would look at him, he’d pretend to be looking at the next car over.

When the big, bold letters spelling out the word ‘intermission’ came across the screen he sighed in relief, already sitting forward with his hand on the door handle, “I’m gonna go get some- uh, you know what? It’s nothing, I’ll just be back.” Sam didn’t even really give Dean time to react before bolting from the car and to the concession stand.

The woman was just as delighted to see him as she was the first time around. He bought another box of the hearts and did the same exact thing, only leaving the ones that said ‘be mine’ and ‘one kiss’, before throwing the rest away he added one more that read ‘love you’.

The younger Winchester chuckled to himself as he walked back to the Impala, wishing there would have been one that said ‘dipshit’.

Sam slid back into the Impala, turning bodily in his seat this time, intentionally grabbing Dean’s attention, definitely less nervous this time around as he offered the box, “More candy?”

Dean reached out and took the box, smiling as he nodded and then slowly frowned, raising his brows at his brother, “I never knew you liked these things so much, how’d you manage to go through almost a whole ‘nother box?”

He poured the three hearts out, reading them and chuckling before eating them, sucking on the candies and sipping his beer as he turned back to the screen, “How long d’you think intermissions last?”

“I  **don’t**  like them,” Sam said flatly, still sitting turned in his seat, staring bluntly at Dean. The older Winchester wasn’t stupid, he acted like it sometimes but Sam knew he wasn’t, which is why he was baffled that Dean still wasn’t putting two and two together.

“Then… Why did you..?” Dean started to chuckle as he looked at his brother in confusion.

He licked his lips, staring at Sam as he thought about the hearts - ‘be mine’ and ‘one kiss’ - both of which he’d gotten twice, and with the extra ‘love you’…

The older Winchester blinked, “You don’t… You don’t like the candy hearts?”

Sam shook his head slowly, eyes focused firmly on Dean’s as he kept a serious face, “ **Nope**.”

Internally he was preparing for it, it seemed like the older Winchester was on the right track to figuring it out, if the confusion plastered to Dean’s face was anything to go by.

Dean narrowed his brows, “I don’t get it, if you hate the hearts, then why do you keep buyin’ ‘em , an’ eatin’ ‘em an’…Then why do you keep givin’ me..?” He stared at Sam silently as the movie started again, “But Sam, you… You hate Valentine’s Day. I don’t understan’ why you keep givin’ me hearts.”

“I don’t  **hate**  Valentine’s Day, Dean,” Sam protested softly, shaking his head minutely, honestly a little deflated that the older man couldn’t figure it out on his own, “I just like it a little less because it’s not like it used to be.”

The younger Winchester opened his mouth to say more, but thought better of it and closed it again, trying to give Dean the benefit of the doubt. This was exactly what Sam was trying to avoid, explaining himself to Dean.

“Like it used to be?” Dean pursed his lips and considered the words. Sam probably wasn’t talking about the last two times he’d made his move, offering Sam up a real fucking [heart](http://carryonmywincestsounds.tumblr.com/post/43098566074) might’ve not been traditional, but like their job descriptions offered anything close to that.

He could only think of the seven Valentine’s Day cards he had stuffed in his jacket pocket, the very one hanging over their bench chair. He even still had that ‘m’, kept from the first one, ‘Be Mine, Sammy’.

Dean stopped, eyes widening as he looked at his brother and smiled so suddenly it probably broke his face, “Wait…”

Sam was pretty sure he could actually see Dean fitting the pieces together in his mind, his brother’s facial expressions told a story all by themselves.

It was amusing to say the least, and when the older Winchester smiled at him, Sam just nodded and grinned a little, “ **Yeah**.”

Dean swallowed and blinked, probably a few times just to be sure, turning to his jacket and pulling out the cards. His hands were fucking shaking but he fought to keep them as calm as possible as he held them out to his brother and ducked his head slightly, dropping his gaze to them.

Sam reached out to take the cards hesitantly, eyes widening when he realized that Dean had kept them all, after all the years. It felt like his heart lurched up into his throat and he had to swallow just to be able to breathe. He sat the cards on his lap and traced his fingers over the worn paper, carefully, eyes watering as he looked back up at Dean.

“You kept these?” Sam asked, voice cracking as he lowered his head, trying to get Dean to look him in the eyes.

“Of course I did,” The older Winchester said, looking back up at his brother and smiling sadly as his own eyes watered, “They’re always in my pocket, one way or another, in my duffel sometimes, if I’m in the middle of a hunt. But I… I keep ‘em with me on Valentine’s Day.”

He licked his lips as he let out a bated breath and shrugged, “They never really meant anythin’ to you, but those… Stupid thin’s were everythin’ to me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Sam frowned and knit his brows together, tears streaking his cheeks, “I loved these things, use to count down the days until I’d get a new one. I remember getting teased for one at school, it fell out of my pocket and some snot faced little brat bullied me for it. So when you stopped I never… I just-I didn’t ask you about it, figured you got tired of making them for me or something. Just… don’t say they didn’t mean anything to me,” He touched the cards, “These things helped me realize a lot about myself, even if I didn’t understand what it meant at the time.”

Dean listened to his brother, swallowing nervously as he blinked and looked away, “The sixth an’ seventh ones I made, you didn’t even say a thin’ to me when I gave you them,” He said, feeling the pains in his arms and hands as he remembered his brother shrugging and looking back at the tv screen.

“I just figured that you didn’t care anymore, that you were–” He shrugged, shaking his head, “Valentine’s Day wasn’t somethin’ I really understood when I made those cards. Other boys gave ‘em to girls, girls gave ‘em to the boys they liked, but the only person I ever cared to give ‘em to was you. It was the only time I felt comfortable, growin’ up, to do somethin’ - to show you how I felt - I don’t think I knew too well what that meant, ‘til I made the  _eighth_  card.”

“Dean, I- I was a stubborn little boy, I thought I had to act tough and not get so excited over Valentine’s Day cards from my  **brother** , even though that’s exactly what I was - excited as Hell, I just- I never told you how much I appreciated them and what they meant to me,” Sam dropped his gaze to the cards, lowering his voice, “ _But I’m telling you now, they meant the world to me, made me love you even more - if that was at all possible considering how much I adored you then._ ”

Sam grew quiet, chest actually starting to physically ache because the older man wouldn’t look at him. He replayed his brother’s words in his head and his eyes widened when he remembered Dean mentioning an **eighth**  card.

“Wait, y-you made another card and never gave it to me?” Sam asked, a little hurt that there had been another card he never got to see.

“Yeah, uh,” The older Winchester turned to the door and stopped, looking at his brother for a moment before taking the keys from the ignition and stepping out, walking around to the back and opening the trunk.

He sifted through for a moment, pulling the shovels from the back and sniffling, blinking the tears away in privacy before pulling the card up and closing the trunk once more, returning to his seat, closing the door and looking at his brother.

“The uh…” He cleared his throat, “The eighth, I tore into pieces before I got home to give it to you. I thought it was stupid, an’ you wouldn’t care. About two days later I went back to get it. Thank fuck that the trash hadn’t gone durin’ the weekend.”

He chuckled nervously, “I taped it up best I could.” Dean looked down at the card, fingers tracing the words for a moment before holding it out to Sam.

Sam watched in confusion as his brother moved from his seat to the trunk and then back, holding a card out to Sam. He took a deep breath and reached out to take it, hands shaking as he read the front of the card.

‘ _Happy Valentine’s Day, Sammy_ ’

The younger Winchester swallowed and slowly turned it to read the back, eyes watering even more as he read Dean’s admission, wishing that the older Winchester would’ve given him this card when they were younger - knowing it would have helped clear up any qualms about his own feelings.

Sam read the words once again, searing them into his mind.

‘ _I know you don’t like Valentine’s Day cards, but they’re the only thing I can think of to give you to let you know you’re special to me. I love you._ ’

He looked up at Dean inquisitively, squinting at the older man, “Do you still feel this way… about me?”

Dean nodded slowly, “I didn’t really realize what it meant then, I was twelve years old, okay? I just… I didn’t know what it was an’ ‘I love you’ was the only thing I could think of at the time to try an’ convey what I feel for you. But it’s not like that, it’s more, an’ I’ve never been able to put a name on it, one that gave it credit. It’s the Impala, an’ bein’ hunters, an’ family, an’ blood. I’ve only ever felt one way for you, Sammy, an’ I dunno what it is exactly, but it’s somethin’, an’ it’s big. An’ I still don’t have words for it yet.”

Sam nodded and lowered his head, grinning to himself, “I know that you love me, there’s never been a doubt in my mind about that, not ever.” He looked at Dean before setting the cards on the dashboard, moving the beer and sitting it on the floor board so he could scoot closer to his brother, cautiously.

He touched Dean’s chin, forcing him to look at Sam, “But what I wanna know, is if you’re  _in love_  with me?”

“You can’t tell me that it’s not completely fuckin’ obvious,” Dean breathed out, licking his lips and staring back into Sam’s eyes, “You can’t tell me that you’ve seen me every day of you’re life an’ not known that I was completely taken by you, you can’t. What  **else**  could that be? Family goes pretty far, but it doesn’t go  _this_  far.” He leaned in, reaching up and grabbing the back of Sam’s neck before pulling him in and pressing their lips together.

Sam’s hand slid from Dean’s chin to his brother’s jaw as his eyes clenched shut, taken aback by the sudden affection but he leaned into it nonetheless, moving and slotting his lips against Dean’s. He kept it tame and innocent for the most part, barely brushing his tongue against Dean’s to taste his brother before pulling back, breathless and so fucking content to finally have what he’d wanted since he was a kid.

“You can’t expect me to just know something like this, Dean. You should have given me the last card when we were younger, though, ‘cause… I’m pretty sure I’ve always been in love with you, even before I understood what it meant.”

Dean shook his head and leaned in again to press a soft, chaste kiss to the corner of Sam’s lips, “I couldn’t’ve, even if I tried. I was scared. It was confusin’, an’ I felt kinda stupid writin’ the damn thin’. You should’a seen my teacher’s face; that kinda made me feel worse. I didn’t know what I was tryin’ to say, an’ I wasn’t sure f’you even wanted to hear it.”

He smiled sadly, sitting back into the chair and looking at the movie still playing, “I know I should’a, but you can’t ask a twelve year old to do what a guy in his mid-twenties couldn’t even get up the nerve to do.”

Sam settled in comfortably next to Dean, thighs pressing against one another as he wrapped his arm around the back of his brother’s neck, pulling the older man closer to kiss his forehead, “Never did say if you wanted to be my Valentine, I tried asking in my own way at least twice.” He grinned and looked up at the screen, watching the movie idly as he felt his brother’s warmth bleed into him.

“Dude,  **I**  asked  **you**  twice - first, an’ I still haven’t gotten a response, that’s not even countin’ my cards, what makes you think I’m gonna tell you what my answer is?” Dean grabbed back up their beers, handing Sam’s over as he took up the box of sour gummy worms and leaned into his brother, smiling as his eyes fell on the cards sitting on the dash.

He shrugged and turned his nose against the larger man’s neck, kissing his warm skin, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Sammy.”


End file.
